Roland D-20

I the beginning the D-20 seems simple.
- but is not a simple synthesizer,
- it's not a fun synth
- and it's hasn't got those breath taking preset sounds either.
- ITS DEMANDING!!

You got to hang in there to dig out the treasures, and if you do that - it will certainly become you friend for life, as for me.

I have programmed the D-20 for 15 years and I know every single corner of it by now - but it has been hours and hours of exploring.
I promise that you will be well rewarded if you stick to it.
If you own a JV-1080, JV-2080 or the XP-series, the D-20 is the key to understand the potential of these great machines, too.
The interface work really well when you get to know it.
By the way: the manual is really good one.

I will just go straigt through the features:

32 polyphony (8 channel Multi-timbral + 1 Drum channel) - PCM-samples(one-shot and Loops) and Syntesis with SAW and SQUARE Waveforms both with Pulse width and PW-velocity.
32 Vibrato Triangle LFOs with rate and depth(the Pitch ENV works as delay vibrato)
32 Independend TVF(Lowpass resonant filter),TVA(Amps) and Picth Envelopes(2 octaves).
16 ringmodulators (both RingMod for PCM and Syntesis or both)
1 Delay or Reverb - with time and modes.
8 track sequencer(16.000 note memory) with an extra pattern-based rhythm tracks.
Floppy 3.5' Disc drive for sequence and sound storage.
SysEX for sounds.
I'd say its pretty good.

(I would never trade mine for a Korg M1 workstation coz the M1 lacks the synthpower which D-20 doesn't.)

The D-20 is capable of:
- Truely fat analog sounds and Noises(Arps, Moogs, Oberheims, Korgs)
- Vintage Digital sounds(Yamaha DX-7, Kawai K3, Casio CZ-5000)
- Analog Drummachines(Acetone, Minipops, TR-606 and 808)
- Some very realistic Pipeorgans, Hammonds, Farfisas and Rhodes.
- Amasing purely D-20 Killer sounds.
- And lots and lots of other sound.

Infact I have beaten the Roland D-50 several times with these programmings. Even though the D-20 might be limited in the synth engine in comparison to the D-50, the D-20 somehow sound more punchy and clear. I know the D-50 got EQs, PWM, Chorus, and a lot of reverd and delay features that really beef up its patches. But it lacks the many of the D-20 samples and some of the parameters are acting slower like the D-50 Pitch Envelope. But then again - I really like the D-50 and I guess brothers and sisters will never be the same.

Some features of the D-20 that makes the sound more exciting:
- Pulse Width(for both SAW and SQUARE) with Velocity that sometimes reminds me of how the strings react of a guitar. Its also great for realistic Fender rhodes sounds.
- Ringmod. which can be programmed to act like a Tremolo(Amp Mod). Its also possible to make "fake-reverb" sound with it. And ofcause loads of Harmonic sounds like "FM-syntesis"
And one hidden feature happens when you ringnodulate fully resonant synth sound. It's Overdrive and a hardcore one too - really beefy or noisy. I guess this wasn't the designers intention - the D-20 was released before Techno music made its way into the commercial market.

A little trick: The Oscillators always acts strangly which can be a problem. (might be a design error - don't know?)
EXAMPLE: This means that they randomly switch upside down. If you make a dual-partial-sound with two simultanious SAW-waveforms they sometimes "kinda" phase out each other. To prevent this from happening, simply make a very snap "autobend"(Pitch ENV) on one of the SAWs. This actually solves the problem and adds a bonus - Analog Feel, which sounds like the real-poly-synths freerun oscillators. Nice.

The rating:
Some might disagree with my (9 rating), but it might just be my 15 years with this synth that makes the real difference.
Bottomline: Remember, the sounds I mensioned before isn't preset sounds, they are exploration results!

The multicolor-diode-bottons might need some cleaning, and gets a little unreliable over the years, but the synth is firmly build in metal.

I got my pitch-bender replaced - factory parts.

Actually someone made a D-50 to D-20 sound-converter-program long time ago. If you have both machines, this could be an fun option. But I don't remember what the program was called - try the net..

A friend for life!
I think the D-20 is an educational synth. If you pass the exam, you can make "professional" sounds on it.
I have made music entirely on the D-20 and thats a challange, but I prefere the D-20 along with other equipment like real analogs and for example next generation Rolands like JV-1080.
No synth is perfect!
The thing I really love about it:
It makes you work and you have to think and learn, for good results -
If you do - you'll end up happy.
One last goody - its really cheap!

The Roland D-Family:
The Roland D-5(no effects), D-10 and D-110 uses the same sound-engine. D-50 has many soundengine-similarities(both adds and subtracts), but has more effects and live-features.(The D-50 is used all over the Jean Michel Jarre album "Revolution" and it makes the theme "Pizzagogo" sound for Enya's "Orinoco Flow" to mension a few)
D-70(in my opinion)doesn't belong in the D-family - It more JD-relateted.

I have one of the originals (88?) so the software version is the one that came out on day one. Presents are weak and only good for composing arrangements so you have a rough idea of what it might sound like with good synths. Editing patches is a pain in the ass. Push those little buttons to get a slightly better sound (the buttons stopped working for some features). Manual is technical and being a techy I appreciated it. But I imagine it being daunting for a non tech type

Crap effects. 16 note polyphony again, just good for composing and idea. Can accept expansion cards, but I never bought into that. Good MIDI implementation. I used to sequence tracks and then shoot themout the back into a real synth, real drum machine or sampler. On board sequencer is only good for scrath pad work. Not much in the way of editing.

Weak sounds. Might be good for really thin sounding techno. You'll need to record track by track through the limited stereo outs to proces the sounds prior to recording. Onboard effects - weak also. I just put reverb on everything to make it sound marginally ok. Early imlementaiton of velocity and aftertouch.

It worked ok as a scratch pad for 14 years! But now it's acting weird and shutting down. I think there may be a coin battery in there somewhere that needs replacing. I cracked the case open once to see what it looked like inside, not many user serviceable parts! I was trying to fix the buttons that stopped working due to all the pressing to change simple things like patch volume. But these are embeded deep under some other board that I couldn't get to.

never called them.

Would not buy again. I wanted a D-50 but it was a lot more money. I think the D50 was marginally better in the sound dept. I hate the sounds and the nasty little buttons that give up the ghost. It is good as a scratch pad, nothing more unless you think thin osuding digital "LA Synthesis" is great.

Intuitive and quite straight forward.
Editing the sounds is a little tiresome due to the small display.

It's good to use as a quick sketchboard for songs.
The sequencer is limited though (no copy function).
Has a good MIDI implementation.

Drums and percussion sounds are useful.
Strings and basses are also quite good.
Also some effects like sweep are nice.
I haven't used the D-20 a lot in mixes, but I think the sounds has potential for mixing nicely with other sources.
They don't take a lot of space and I really like the "feel" of some of the sounds.

Only had to replace the battery once.

I bought a secondhand D-20 some 10+ years ago and it was my first synthesizer/workstation. I sold it, but missed it so much that I bought it back just recently.
I must admit the it has sentimental value for me, but I'm planning to use it in my small home studio.

Years ago I learned to use this workstation well and still rely on it for a sketchpad for ideas as well as interesting sounds.

I am not a pianist. I merely use the d-20 to arrange songs. It took me
about a week to really master using the workstation. It's the only keyboard I can use with ease.

I love the built in effects. I think that the digital effects are a bonus since most musicians usually have a separate effects unit. I love the capabilities of the on-board sequencer and disk drive. It allows an average keyboardist to arrange and edit music above his or her skill level of live performance.

There are some patches which could use improvement but there is enough variety to choose a suitable sound, with the dubbing capabillities you can fatten any sound.

d-20 has never failed me

Once I had a booting problem with the d-20 but repair went smoothly and very quick at no cost to myself

I purchased my first d-20 back in 1988 used and paid $1000.00 for it. Since then I must have gone through five or six, selling them when I was short of cash and then buying them when I absolutely needed a keyboard(D-20). It's the only workstation that I bothered to learn and to me the easiest to use for the money!

OMS/Cubasis 2.0 (Mac)

The "real" sounds are so-so, but the synth sounds are fantastic!

I love it. and regularly compose on it. Along with Cubase VST and my Mac, it makes killer demos. And if you add Absynth tn the picture, your in progressive paradise!

It's not really simple to use, but I remember that when I get it in the '88 I spent a couple of weeks and I could understand most of all the features of the synth (I was 16 ath that time .. and even the manual was in english (I'm italian) ... I could appreciate the quality of the manual ...)
At that time I had not enough money to buy a D50 or M1 (that sounds little bit better ...!!) but after I started to program the synth I could make a lot of really good sounds (After 13 years I still use some sounds made with my D20 (not the factory)
Editing the patches is not difficult, it's boring because the display has only 2 lines with 16 characters, but programming is quite simple.

I have read people writing good KEY VELOCITY AND AFTERTOUCH ! BUT the aftertouch doesn't exist on the D20, key velocity is ok.
Effect not enough (only 8 with 2 parameters .....)
Really usefull the floppy drive
Sequencer only realtime ....(The engineer that made the firmware for the D20 didn't spend a lot of time to put a couple of features usefull for the sequencer ...)

I hate to start off the review with a negative, but it's true: The D-20 is not at all easy to use. If you are daunted by cryptic design, engineering, and documentation, steer clear. The preset sounds are unsatisfactory, so the only way you will come to like this thing (as I do!) is to buckle down and learn how to program it. When I first got it in 1990 I spent several weeks programming sounds before completing any compositions. I finally got them the way I wanted them, and I rarely touch the programs anymore. By the way, you will also want to obtain a RAM card (256D or 256E) for this synth. It helps immensely when you're constructing your own instrument layouts.

Many others have already described the standard features, so I won't go there. Instead I'll mention that it has a cool Performance Mode in which you can split or layer sounds to obtain a wide variety of interesting results. As I said, once you get the programming down, the synth will reward you with great flexibility. There is a sequencer built in, but you can ignore it. It's so basic as to be nearly uselss. Also, it has been stated erroneously that the D-20 sends and responds to aftertouch, which it does not.

Again: You must program sounds (or obtain good programs elsewhere) to realize the potential of this keyboard. I have used it for just about every type of music imaginable. The results have even impressed a pro film composer who is accustomed to working with high-end samplers. I now team up my D-20 with a D-110 (the rackmount equivalent) in order to layer sounds, avoid polyphony dropouts, and obtain a total of 10 discreet outputs.

Highly reliable. I have never owned a backup.

I have generally found Roland support to be helpful. I think they still sell the service manual, which contains some cool "secret" information, but official support for this 13-year-old product is a little spotty. Go figure!

I absolutely have to have one of these. I love its non-conformist style. I hate the shortcomings of the sequencer. Bottom line: You'll have to pry it from my cold dead hands, etc...

If you like to read manuals,this is the thing.If you don't,you got
a problem.This isn't no intuitive -hands-on-ready-to-go synth.
Because most of the sounds are not that usefull I had to program it myself.
Lots of clickidiclick on the buttons,that is.As I said,I did had a hard time
to work my way through the manual.

Polyphony is 32 voices and with 2 or 3 oscillators per "tone"(timbre)
and say 6 tones per song the d20 starts to choke a bit.Sequencer is
good if you're a perfect player but copy/paste per track is not available.
So ,in my opinion the sequencer is worthless .Reverbs and echos are usable
sometimes

Presets are kind of thin.The only presets which sound good are the organs,
some horns and the drumkit.The drumkit sounds pretty good ; I use it
a lot .Velocity is good enough .I use this d20 mostly for Trance,rock,
house,ambient and I must say that with a bit :) of tinkering you can get
a decent bass out of it ,and special effects too.You can doodle with
filters triggered by the velocity to get your analogesque feel.
It's my main keyboard and it is hooked up to my computer,which,ofcourse,has a better sequencer
installed on it.And yes,

buttons are flimsy ;the more you use it ,the harder you have to press
those buttons to get some response.

I'd had to wait quite a long time before someone could answer my question.
But they were helpful though.

The sound has this quirky quality ;it has its own personality and with some
programming it can be very usefull in a sequencer setup along with
other"modules".I even like to have another one to expand its polyphony!

Sounds...well, I bought it in '87 new, because I couldn't afford a D-50 or an M-1 (wish I had bought the M-1 instead...) so I spent the next 5 years convincing myself that it sounded better than it did..
It was OK in a band situation, though. I think it would have been a fantastic keyboard for it's time, had it come out in, say, '85, instead of '87 (after the *D-50*)...the factory patches were all very weak and thin, and brittle. There was nothing smooth about the D-20.
As I got into the instrument more, some of the best sounds were made by making huge layers...that helped at the expense of polyphony..
The programming...?
More complicated than it needed to be...you know, when you have to push 7 buttons 15 times repeatedly to get to the TVA level for the 4th partial...or whatever.
But, you get used to it..

Lets see...stripped down LA synth.
32 voices (partials), up to 2 partials per program, and 2 programs for a "patch" ("play mode"..in performance mode, you only got the basic 2 voice patches..)Jeez...three layers of sound building...crazy.
The voice was a simplified D-50 set-up..either a "synth" or a "sample"
partial, (the "synth had a filter in the loop, the "sample did not.."

Similar to the D-50, the D-20 used structures to determine the type of
oscillators the "pairs of paritals" used...it also threw in some ring-mod type structures..not good for much as i remember..

Other than that...one vanilla LFO per voice, simple filter, simple
rate/level envelopes...
Crappy reverb and tap delay FX, they didn't help much.

It had that goofy 8 track sequencer....very limited. Frustrating.
Many times I used a 4-track and live recorded overdubs, rather than mess with the D-20's sequencer...
Years later, I did find a good use for the seq...I did long, "ambient"
looping 8 track pieces of sound FX, such as "night-time" bug sounds,
"startrek-bridge" sounds, etc...very nice and convincing, although I'm sure Roland didn't have that in mind...LOL

Nothing was terribly realistic, unless you were trying to model the sound of "a thin, brittle, stripped down digital synth". In that case it did very well. it works well for music "played by a musician who couldn't afford an M-1"....
The onboard FX are slightly better than the old spring reverb in peavey amps...
The D-20 had attack velocity, and nothing else...

*you could do some nice sounds if you carefully composed and layered
huge mutli-patch stacks together..ofcourse at the expense of polyphony..

About the 3rd year I owned it, many of the panel buttons stopped working...also some of the keys lost tension and became "physically" and "sonically" unstable (wrong velo triggers, etc..) The cost to repair was not very cheap, if I remember correctly...

Never contacted them,,

It was a price point, something Roland rushed into market to get people "into the stores"...lets just say, many Roland Engineers probably won't put the D-20 on their resume'.

harder to use than most other synths i've used. very little bumpin' bass, i had to use a second synth for that type of bass. programming is hard, manual is little help. a good deal of good soundsets on the internet. disks used are only compatible with the d-20, so you can't pop them in a computer. there's a program called d-10 control that makes editing alot easier, as well as many other things.

NO AFTERTOUCH. places on the internet don't agree on wether there's aftertouch or not. there isn't. sequencer is nice, access to drum kit is tricky, some soundsets have a drumset in it so you dont have to program it in(i'm working on a custom set with this and some good trance/garage/techno sounds to be posted on my website)

sounds are excellent. be careful, some have a little extra punch at the beginning. organs are incredible. NO BUMPIN BASS. the bass is good, but not for trance/techno stuff, except as a lead. some very unique sounds. a very good digital/analog mix. does alot many synths won't do easily.mostly a lead synth. piano sounds are good at best.

very reliable, i've done alot withit some people wouldn't even dare.

i never use customer support. there's alot of good websites on the net. d-10/d-110 set are compatible so you can use d-10 pages too.

being a producer, i use this as my main instrument. it's invaluable. i wish it had bumpin bass so i could get rid of my other synth and use just this machine. it's a roland, so it will last forever.